Yes, I've actually finished my Christmas shopping AND wrapped everything! I did the wrapping last night with one eye on Coronation Street whilst simultaneously eating a bar of Cadburys. I also managed it without the "help" of Eddie, one of my cats (he likes to rip up wrapping paper like a thing possessed)
My colour choices for the wrapping are a bit dubious this year, I'm not quite sure what I was thinking to be honest. It started out ok with some pretty turquoise paper with circle design, complete with purple (what!) gift tags which I thought were gold until I got to the till but then couldn't be bothered to go back and change, and finished off with gold bows. The bows are very pretty but don't stick so I had to use sellotape on them as well ~ take note Sainsburys!
But at least it's done!

Here's a picture of Eddie keeping a close watch on my jewellery making. Notice the wonderful "studio" I work from aka the diningroom table!

My first Folksy article is now up on IndieSmiles!
It's titled "What's Folksy?" and is an introduction to the idea behind Folksy and the wealth of talented designers and crafters to be found there.

I chose photos from several Folksy sellers to be featured in the first article to give an idea of the talent and originality of UK designers and crafters. I will be featuring more sellers in later articles!

The idea behind the articles (more to come!) is to spread the word about Folksy to a wider, mainly American audience, letting people know where we Folksy sellers are and to showcase our very talented UK designers and crafters.

Thanks to a posting on the Folksy Forum from Woody of Wood Jewellery I've just discovered I can see where visitors to my Folksy shop live! Click on the Map Overlay report and a world map appears highlighting the countries your visitors are from. Click on each country and you get a more detailed report listing the state/town!

Where?!
Most of my shop visitors have been from the UK and USA, with the majority in the UK from London and the South East, although there is a cluster from the North West which is nice as I used to live in Lancashire before defecting to the South 23 years ago!
The majority of US visits are from Ohio and California, with Akron in Ohio scoring the most visits. I wonder why?

Don't get me wrong, I do like Christmas but to be totally honest if it was possible I would go into hibernation the day after my birthday in October & emerge round about March when things start to turn green again. I love Spring because it means you've got Christmas & New Year over with and Summer to look forward to!

However, as that isn't possible I suppose I will have to think about what to buy people. I have a few ideas and I'm planning to make an early morning (well, 8.30ish) dash to town next week (not this weekend, NEVER at a weekend coming up to Christmas!)

Buying Christmas presents for my Dad

I'm going to hit M&S to buy my Dad some of these........

Yes, I know, not very original but it's what he wants ("size 9 leather please"!) I will probably also buy him some of these..........

which is good as I can eat some of them too (all of them if he goes out of the room for long enough). I m…

Serena Cowdy, owner of Folksy shop The Copper Swallow, came up with a suggestion a couple of weeks ago on the Folksy Forum ~ Why not have a series of interviews about Folksy sellers to feature on our blogs? I thought it was a brilliant idea! What better way to find out a bit more about the person behind the shop: what motivates them to create and why they chose their particular field ............. to which side of the fence they're on when it comes to Marmite!!

My first interview is with Serena, the brains behind The Copper Swallow!
Based in London, Serena is never happier than when she's pottering around with her camera ...............

When did you start selling on Folksy?

I only set up shop on Folksy at the beginning of November, but I did quite a bit of research (and lurked around the Folksy forums a lot!) before that.

The name of your Folksy shop is quite unusual ~ how did you come up with it?

Wildlife is one of my passions, and is a central theme in my work. I think if were…

I'm about to become the latest contributing columnist for Indiesmiles! Who? You may ask? IndieSmiles is a US website dedicated to highlighting handmade (individual therefore "Indie") shops, ranging from jewellery, art, sewing crafts and much more ......

Sue, the owner of IndieSmiles left a message in one of the Folksy forums asking for people to contact her if they would like to become a Folksy rep, writing regular articles highlighting Folksy & it's talented sellers. I thought I'd reply & today I received an email from Sue asking me to write for them. What a great way to spread the word about Folksy! In return I get a 2 week free advertising spot for my Folksy shop!
Now I just need to get my shop button sorted out & my bio then think of the subject of my first column! I'll keep you posted!